June 12, 2017

2.Now that your debut year is over and your sophomore novel is out what have you learned from novel 1 to 2?

The process of publishing a first novel is write something you love, then throw it out into the world and see if it sticks somewhere. With book 2, there are already expectations: From readers, from your agent, from your publisher. It ended up feeling so backward to me, and I got very hung up on those expectations. The thing I have learned--and continue to learn--is how to keep a piece of the process and the novel that is for you, as a writer. Stay true to yourself, and try not to let the other voices drown yours out.

3. Outside of the romantic ship you've already created who would you pair Monty with outside your novel?

Dex from One Day by David Nicholls because they’re both self-loathing narcissist flirts who make bad choices and get up to no good, or Queenie from Code Name Verity, who has comparable levels of sass and spunk.

4. Do you feel you write more character based or story based novels?

Character based, for certain. Plotting is not something that comes easy to me.

5. What's in the books for your third novel?

I have two books coming out--a nonfiction book called Bygone Badass Broads, which is 52 short essays about women from history you might not know about but definitely should, and another historical novel called Semper Augustus which is coming out in 2019 and is set during the Dutch tulipomania in 1637.

6. If you could pick one song on repeat while writing what would you pick?Oh man. Depends on the book. For Gentleman’s Guide, it was definitely Chandelier by Sia.